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At best, this operation could be construed as an act of vandalism or at worst an act of CYBER terrorism. This indiscriminate and malicious act of hostility was

At best, this operation could be construed as an act of vandalism or at worst an act of CYBER terrorism. This indiscriminate and malicious act of hostility was carried by what amounted to be a cyber weapon (think IED) housed in a very ordinary and non-suspicious package to cause the greatest damage to the users' data.

JumpCrisscross 5y ago
> this operation could be construed as an act of vandalism or at worst an act of CYBER terrorism Could be. But by whom? To what effect? One of the downsides of losing credibility as a nation state is the concepts of deference, retaliation and proportionality lose weight. There is no indication that the facts on the ground would affect whether Putin deems something a cyber attack. Worse, one's own policing actions are likely to cause more damage as propaganda pieces than ignoring the issue. Yes, in an international law framework this would be prosecuted in the U.S. But in that framework Russia wouldn't be in Ukraine. Add to that it's tacit approval of its own hackers, and it's difficult--in a realpolitik frame--to find support for doing anything about this other than minor finger wagging.
- FerociousTimes 5y ago
  > Could be. But by whom? To what effect? The general public. I speculate that publicity was one of the main objectives behind this operation to draw attention to his political grievances and maybe demands. Perhaps we should focus more on the issue of bragging rights. The perpetrator probably thinks he's some kind of a hero having conducted this operation and it was some kind of a heroic feat sticking up to Putin when he in fact is more of a lousy vandal destroying some poor guy's store window than an epic warrior conquering foreign lands and subduing evil emperors. The more people realize this and esp. people who are prone to commit these acts, the more innocent people would be spared the damage incurred by those reckless attacks.

JumpCrisscross 5y ago

> this operation could be construed as an act of vandalism or at worst an act of CYBER terrorism Could be. But by whom? To what effect? One of the downsides of losing credibility as a nation state is the concepts of deference, retaliation and proportionality lose weight. There is no indication that the facts on the ground would affect whether Putin deems something a cyber attack. Worse, one's own policing actions are likely to cause more damage as propaganda pieces than ignoring the issue. Yes, in an international law framework this would be prosecuted in the U.S. But in that framework Russia wouldn't be in Ukraine. Add to that it's tacit approval of its own hackers, and it's difficult--in a realpolitik frame--to find support for doing anything about this other than minor finger wagging.

FerociousTimes 5y ago
> Could be. But by whom? To what effect? The general public. I speculate that publicity was one of the main objectives behind this operation to draw attention to his political grievances and maybe demands. Perhaps we should focus more on the issue of bragging rights. The perpetrator probably thinks he's some kind of a hero having conducted this operation and it was some kind of a heroic feat sticking up to Putin when he in fact is more of a lousy vandal destroying some poor guy's store window than an epic warrior conquering foreign lands and subduing evil emperors. The more people realize this and esp. people who are prone to commit these acts, the more innocent people would be spared the damage incurred by those reckless attacks.